In soverre as wat kodisille testamente verander, herroep testateurs hulle.

It means insofar as, to the extent that, or inasmuch as.

In this sentence, it introduces a limitation: the statement only applies to the extent that the codicils change the wills.

This is a very formal expression, especially in legal writing. A learner should treat in soverre as wat as one set phrase rather than trying to translate each word separately.

Because that first part is a subordinate clause.

Afrikaans usually sends the finite verb to the end in subordinate clauses. So:

• kodisille = codicils
• testamente = wills
• verander = change

That is why the order is:

• kodisille testamente verander
• literally: codicils wills change

This is normal Afrikaans subordinate-clause word order.

Because the sentence begins with a fronted subordinate clause.

In Afrikaans main clauses, the finite verb normally comes second. If something else comes first — here, the whole clause In soverre as wat kodisille testamente verander — then the verb comes before the subject in the next part.

So:

• first element: In soverre as wat kodisille testamente verander
• then the main clause begins with the finite verb: herroep
• then the subject: testateurs
• then the object: hulle

If the sentence started directly with the main clause, it would look more like:

• Testateurs herroep hulle ...

So this is a word-order effect, not a different meaning.

These are all plural legal nouns:

• kodisille = codicils
  singular: kodisil
• testamente = wills
  singular: testament
• testateurs = testators
  singular: testateur

These are formal legal terms, not especially everyday vocabulary.

Here hulle means them.

In this sentence, it refers to testamente.

So the idea is that the testators revoke the wills, or revoke them to that extent.

A useful thing to remember is that Afrikaans hulle can mean:

• they
• them
• their

Context tells you which one it is. Here it is clearly an object pronoun, so it means them.

Because Afrikaans, like English, can use bare plural nouns when speaking generally.

Compare English:

• Codicils change wills
• Testators revoke them

That is a general statement, not a statement about specific codicils or specific wills already identified in the conversation.

So the absence of die is normal here.

In this sentence, it is best to treat in soverre as wat as a fixed formal expression.

A learner may be tempted to break it apart word by word, but that is usually not the most helpful approach. In legal or very formal Afrikaans, combinations like this can function as a set phrase meaning insofar as or to the extent that.

So the safest reading is:

• in soverre as wat = insofar as

Not really. It is grammatical, but it sounds very formal and legal.

Things that make it sound formal:

• in soverre as wat
• kodisille
• testateurs
• herroep

A native speaker would recognize it, especially in legal context, but this is not casual conversation Afrikaans.

Herroep is a formal verb meaning revoke, withdraw, or cancel, especially in legal or official contexts.

It is stronger and more technical than a simple everyday verb like stop or verander.

So in this sentence, herroep is exactly the kind of verb you would expect in legal language about wills and codicils.

Yes, because the difficulty is not just vocabulary. It also comes from:

• a very formal linking expression: in soverre as wat
• subordinate-clause word order: testamente verander
• inversion in the main clause: herroep testateurs
• legal terminology throughout

So even if you know the words one by one, the sentence can still feel dense. That is normal. It is the kind of sentence where understanding the structure matters as much as understanding the vocabulary.